Call me a dreamer, but I wonder if the death of certain institutions and the compromise of others will actually galvanize the Christian community, causing them to view my alma mater—and any other school that will not bow the knee to unfettered Eros—in a new light. I don’t know. Darkness and low enrollment may continue for a night, but a “baby boom” of a freshman class may be coming in the morning, along with a lot of transfer students.

An alternative model I’ve recently heard involves churches putting together Bible colleges that complement the education being offered in secular institutions. This is not ideal; I’d rather ask my kids to “joyfully accept the plundering of their property” (Heb 10:34) through unaccredited degrees at “Benedict-Option” Christian schools in the hills than ask them to navigate the challenges of a capital-S Secular education during their formative years. I certainly wasn’t ready as a college freshman to withstand those challenges.

Author: Mark Ward

PhD in NT; theological writer for Faithlife; former high school Bible textbook author for BJU Press; husband; father; ultimate frisbee player; member of the body of Christ.
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2 thoughts on “Some Thoughts on Some Thoughts on the Future of Christian Higher Ed”

I was thinking about posting a response to his piece. (That time when your webmaster pre-empted your post …)

My main thought is that the fear-mongers don’t seem to realize how much political opposition to such a move there would be. The majority of Americans still hold to essentially traditional moral values, and while they’ve largely given up trying to stop alternative expressions, they’re not going to let themselves be outlawed.